Up to 100 million euros in aid for Catalan science to lead the trials
The Catalan government is allocating up to 12 million euros to expand laboratories and research centers for rare diseases, supercomputing, and new materials, among other projects.
BarcelonaA platform for studying mutant mice—genetically modified rodents—, cleanrooms for manufacturing new chips, an expansion of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), various facilities for studying rare diseases and pediatric therapies, and new equipment for creating biodegradable materials. These are some of the objectives of the 14 projects selected to receive between €1 million and €12 million in the 2024 call for proposals for Singular Institutional Grants from the Department of Research and Universities. The call, which primarily aims to improve the infrastructure of the Catalan science park, has a total investment capacity of over €103 million and is co-financed 30% by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and 20% by the Spanish Government. Furthermore, the universities or research centers that receive funding will have to contribute an additional 50% of the investment received from the call with their own funds or other compatible grants.
As explained by the Minister of Research and Universities, Núria Montserrat, this is a call for proposals that Catalonia has not had since 2019 and is one of the tools the Catalan Government intends to use to ensure that by 2030 Catalonia "becomes one of the 50 most innovative regions in Europe." "Projects have been awarded to lead the development of new therapies in pediatric medicine and also in sectors as important as quantum physics and supercomputing, in which Catalonia already stands out in Europe," Montserrat emphasized, adding that this is a significant step towards providing Catalan researchers with the necessary facilities.
The 14 selected projects—out of a total of 37 applicants—must have a duration of no more than seven years, and all expenses must be incurred before 2028. "We are talking not about a ten-year period, but a period of two or three years for these facilities to be ready."
From the BSC to the Synchrotron
Among the 14 institutions that will receive funding are the San Juan de Dios Private Foundation for Research and Teaching, for a new space dedicated to transforming the approach to rare and complex pediatric diseases; and the Institute for Biomedical Research (IRB) Foundation, to create a technological hub for preclinical research with models in vivo, such as genetically modified mice; or the BSC to carry out an expansion that will facilitate, among other things, serving small and medium-sized enterprises.
Funding will also be awarded to, among others, the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) to create new spaces for research on new biodegradable and sustainable materials for applications in the circular economy and health; the Institute of Photonic Sciences Foundation (ICFO) to remodel one of its buildings and dedicate it to photonic chip programs; the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) to improve the laboratories in one of the buildings on the Diagonal-Besòs Campus; and the University of Barcelona (UB) to remodel one of the buildings on the Mundet Campus and house the new Barcelona Center for Applied Neurosciences.